In:
Scientific Reports, Springer Science and Business Media LLC, Vol. 13, No. 1 ( 2023-09-29)
Abstract:
As one of the key, long-term occupied sites in the Southern Levant, Jericho was one of the most important early Neolithic centres to witness social and economic changes associated with the domestication of plants and animals. This study applies strontium ( 87 Sr/ 86 Sr), oxygen (δ 18 O) and carbon (δ 13 C) isotope analyses to the enamel of 52 human teeth from Pre-Pottery Neolithic (PPN) layers of Jericho to directly study human diet and mobility and investigate the degree of consolidation and the flexibility of social organization of Jericho society in the PPN period. The results indicate only two non-local individuals out of the 44 sampled inhabitants identified by strontium isotope analysis and are consistent with the presence of a largely sedentary community at PPN Jericho with no evidence for large-scale migration. We also construct strontium spatial baselines ( 87 Sr/ 86 Sr map) with local 87 Sr/ 86 Sr signatures for the sites across the Southern Levant based on systematic compilation and analysis of available data. In addition, we apply proteomic analysis of sex-specific amelogenin peptides in tooth enamel for sex estimation of the sampled individuals (n = 44), the results of which showed a sex-biased ratio (more male than female detected in this sample pool) in Jericho society during the PPN period, which may be due to the limited sample size or selective ritual practices like particular burial zones used for specific groups. We also pretreated a batch of human bone samples recovered from PPNB Jericho for stable carbon and nitrogen isotope analyses for dietary investigations. However, the extracted collagen showed poor preservation and no valid δ 13 C or δ 15 N data were obtained.
Type of Medium:
Online Resource
ISSN:
2045-2322
DOI:
10.1038/s41598-023-43549-1
Language:
English
Publisher:
Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Publication Date:
2023
detail.hit.zdb_id:
2615211-3
